ABSTRACT
Using a project developed by the Warhol Museum—the Timeweb—this chapter explores some of the key issues that museums, particularly art museums, face as they consider interactive interpretive projects. The Timeweb was designed as a stand-alone digital experience for both in-gallery as well as off-site visitors that allows users to explore historical aspects of Warhol’s life, times, and art in a nonlinear way. Institutionally, the Timeweb project team hoped to expand potential audiences and to create a sense of community engagement around Warhol and art historical interpretations of him. Coauthoring tools for user-generated content were envisioned for both the casual user of the site as well as for the community of art experts interested in Warhol and his times. The chapter discusses some of the lessons learned from the design and prototyping process. In particular, the Timeweb project sheds light on the tensions that arise around issues of innovation, institutional voice and interpretation, and didactic vs. user-driven experiences as museums work to embrace Web 2.0.
